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Philosophical Versus Actual Adoption of Community Policing: A Case Study

NCJ Number
226333
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 5-28
Author(s)
Allison T. Chappell
Date Published
March 2009
Length
24 pages
Annotation
In an attempt to discern the extent to which police officers have endorsed and implemented community policing and problem-solving, this study examined attitudes and behaviors of police officers in one police agency that claimed to fully endorse the philosophy and practice of community policing.
Abstract
Results of this case study indicate that lack of resources, time constraints, and the organizational culture were significant barriers to community policing implementation in this agency. The results indicate that even in an agency that has claimed to fully adopt community policing, significant barriers to its implementation still exist. Even with these barriers, it is believed that in order for community policing to be successful, police officers must also believe in it. Community policing is the operating philosophy of the majority of American police departments in the new millennium. Though most departments claim to engage in community policing, research has shown that implementation of the strategy is uneven. Investigating the implementation of community policing, this study sought to assess the extent to which community policing was accepted and practiced by a sample of patrol officers in a medium-sized municipal police department in Florida that had allegedly adopted the community policing model department-wide. Tables, notes, and references